THE College of Law has announced a major investment of £7.5m in the North West which will see considerable expansion of its activities in the region.
Considerable investment will be made its existing Chester centre over the next two years, and the college will also open a Manchester centre.
Granted a Royal Charter in 1876, the college today is the only specialist legal education and training provider in the UK.
Offering a full range of programmes for lawyers at all stages of qualification, the college has a base in Chester which attracts many Merseyside graduates.
This year the entire committee of the Merseyside Trainee Solicitors Group was made up from Chester students who now work in the Liverpool area.
Tricia Chatterton, North West regional director at the College of Law, commented: “The growth of legal activity in the North West, in terms of both quantity and quality of work, has been phenomenal over the past few years.
“It has seen the region become a far more dominant player in the UK legal market.
“With that in mind, the college feels that the time is right for us to extend our North West operations by enhancing the already excellent facilities in Chester and opening a new centre.
“In so doing we will be supporting the local economy by encouraging the retention of legal talent and developing the region’s future managing partners.�
The announcement of the college’s plans for the region has been publicly endorsed by Liverpool’s leading firms including Berrymans Lace Mawer, Brabners Chaffe Street, DLA Piper, DWF, Halliwells, Hill Dickinson and Weightmans.
Maurice Watkins, joint senior partner at Brabners Chaffe Street said: “The College of Law has an outstanding reputation for the quality of trainees that it produces and this investment in the North West is great news both for students and firms in the region.�